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ATARI® OFFICIALLY INTRODUCES THE ATARI VCS™, ITS ALL-NEW VIDEO COMPUTER SYSTEM INSPIRED BY MORE THAN 40 YEARS OF HISTORY

For the fans that have been following the release of Atari's first gaming console since the release of the Atari Jaguar 25 years ago, and thought the chances of a release were slim after the previous Indiegogo campaign was canceled, there is great news. The new console release was not canceled, and was only delayed, as Atari had previously promised. If you have been waiting to purchase the new console, it looks like the wait will be over soon, as a preorder date will be announced in April

Atari, one of the world's most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers, today proudly announces that “Atari VCS” is the official name of its new retro-inspired gaming and entertainment platform, previously known by its working title “Ataribox.” The company also marks this important milestone by sharing the Atari VCS, Classic Joystick and Modern Controller prototypes with press at this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, with the objective to reveal the exclusive pre-order date for the Atari VCS during the month of April 2018.

After Atari revealed images of the classic joystick in November of last year, many gamer's were asking if there would be a modern controller released for the new console. Atari has answered the question, and from the initial images of the prototype, the modern controller looks to be well designed for both classic games as well as modern gaming.

Inspired by the iconic silhouette of the original Atari 2600 Video Computer System, the new Atari VCS has already generated considerable excitement within the gaming community. Its skillful blend of modern lines and reverential details, combined with contemporary content technology and new innovation, has evoked positive reactions from Atari fans both new and old. The Atari VCS will of course serve up lots of classic content, but it is so much more than a “retro-box.” It is a completely new Atari connected device designed for today’s living room.

The new Atari VCS logo, like the new hardware itself, combines past and present, and is inspired by Atari’s rich history of progressive graphic design. Countless highly-memorable game logos, illustrations, ads and packages were generated by Atari’s legendary in-house Industrial Design and Graphics department during the 1970’s and 80’s. From our first view of the new Atari VCS name and logo, this is a huge step forward from the working title "Ataribox" and ties in nicely to nostalgia of the Atari brand, while introducing new gamer's to Atari with the modern design of the console.

Industrial design and graphics are essential parts of the brand’s DNA and part of what makes every Atari game an adventure for the player. Today’s Atari design, engineering, software and marketing teams all endeavor to bring similar levels of care and attention to the new VCS. Atari intends its new video computer system to change the way you interact with your TV, just as the original Atari 2600 Video Computer System first did more than 40 years ago.

“Every person at Atari and every partner involved with the new platform is just as fanatical about the brand and its heritage as our biggest fans are,” explained Michael Arzt, Atari COO of Connected Devices. “With the Atari VCS name, we know how important it is to get everything completely right and that’s why we briefly paused an imminent launch late last year. It was a difficult decision with the countdown underway, but we weren’t willing to go forward with even one thing out of alignment. We hope that Atari’s fans appreciate our extreme attention to detail and are as excited about the Atari VCS as we are.”

By now, we know that a collection of classic games will be available, but many fans and gamer's are still interested in one of the most important aspects of the Atari VCS. What new modern gaming titles will be available for the console at the release date? With the latest update from Atari, it looks like fans now have a reason to be excited. The release of the Atari VCS appears to be coming soon !

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